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I promised I would share our calendar system as soon as I found something that worked for us. I was desperate. Caspar needed a concrete way of learning the days of the week, especially distinguishing between week days and the weekend and counting down to special events, visitors, holidays and birthdays. We've tried a traditional calendar but it wasn't at all engaging and not large enough to record all we wanted.

I've had this calendar bookmarked. I knew it wasn't exactly what we needed but I found it inspirational. I also love this concept from the Wallsticker Company but knew because of it's size I wouldn't be able to convince my husband. We settled on a similar calendar on a much smaller scale and with lots of room to customise. We have this one from Etsy.

The calendar usually isn't this blank, I've removed some of the detail for privacy. Also I clean the right side panel every morning so Caspar and I can fill it in. Usually we record the temperature and weather. We're not tracking all phases of the moon but are marking full and new moons. We haven't starting a conversation on seasons just yet but I'm sure that will be next. I also wanted to show you this calendar before next month, yes April will be a busy one for us.

As you can see it features prominently in our living space. Which is why I waited until I found the perfect calendar. It's also our family calendar so I didn't want it hidden or in Caspar's room. Otis can easily reach it but because we use a wet erase chalk marker he barely even smudges it. Almost baby proof.

You have probably noticed that I've started the week on a Monday. I've always felt the week finishes on a Sunday and starts on a Monday, but I'm not sure if I should be teaching Caspar my crazy ways. Another thing that I like about this calendar is it's chalkboard. Caspar loves to use it. I paid some attention to the calendar in his classroom recently. It too is surprisingly simple. Just days of the week applied with blutack. I probably wouldn't call it beautiful but definitely appealing.

The last couple of videos have shown Otis babbling. He is really vocal which seems to be a characteristic of his stage in development. He is 11 months old and within a week of turning one. This makes it the perfect time to talk about the pre-linguistic period of language development.

Dr Montanaro writes (in Understanding the Human Being) the pre-linguistic period lasts from birth (or even before) to 10-12 months. My main interest is how can I best assist my child in this period.

Dr Montanaro writes "In this stage all the work children perform is hidden within them, and very little can be observed externally. We need to be aware of this silent process, if we want to facilitate it. If we want to change our ideas about children, we have to observe them carefully." Ok, I'm observing.

I think it comes intuitively, mothers being able to understand their babies through their cries and babble. During his first 11 months I have observed Otis express himself vocally. His tone, rhythms, movements, vocal force, breathing patterns have all helped him be understood. Now his sounds and intentions are more obvious. He is making what Montanaro calls holophrases, one word that expresses a complete situation.

Otis loves making noise and it is usually pleasurable for us also. But what about understanding what is being said to him. Dr Montanaro again "In considering the development of language , we should distinguish between the capacity to emit sounds and words, and the ability to understand their meaning, because these do not always go together, although the latter generally precedes the former."

I know Otis understands many words; Mum, Dad, Caspar. But what about others? What about commands? It's a little difficult to ascertain. Body language and movement are important too. Commands such as 'come' usually occur with open arms. 'Let's eat' is followed by the serving of food. It's probably not all that important to know at this time what is understood verbally but rather continue with good role modelling, precise and clear language, speaking at the child's level, making eye contact and lots of talking and interaction with not only ourselves but our wider community.

Some other tips from Dr Montanaro;

speak slowly, not too loudly,

describe actions we perform with them during maternal care and at other opportunities,

respond to your child so they learn speaking is two way communication,

use real words in their correct context,

name body parts as you touch them, name objects as you use them in feeding or dressing,

expose the child to adult language and conversation (this is why I prefer a baby carrier over a pram, the child can clearly hear the conversation and observe lip movements, expressions and emotions),

We have parent teacher interviews tomorrow. Last year I left the interview feeling like I hadn't learnt anything new. We know the school well and we know the teacher well. We communicate regularly with the teacher and address concerns as they happen. This time I want to be more prepared and take in some questions. Here are my top questions for parent teacher interviews.

1. What are my child's strengths?

2. What are my child's weaknesses?

3. How does he interact with other children in the classroom?

4. Are there materials that he resists or is hesitant to use?

5. What is your overall impression of my child?

I'm not sure if I will remember all of these questions, perhaps I should write them down. Here are a couple of other questions I'll be asking.

6. Does he eat at snack time? What food does he eat and what doesn't he eat? (The school provides the food for snack).

7. What can we do to support his learning at home?

I'm sure the interview will go well but they always make me feel a little nervous. How about you? I'd love to hear any questions you ask at parent teacher interviews. Or if you are a teacher what are some of the good questions you have been asked by parents?

I've recently written how Otis likes to use his walker wagon. He has graduated to using it on tiles and hard surfaces. He has enough control to start and stop but usually ends up running into the furniture. He cannot at this stage turn the cart around. So we spend all day helping him turn around and navigate corners. Without the walker he can stand up independently but hasn't taken any steps.

We've made a modest start on Easter preparations. Easter tree decorated - check. You can see our tree from last year here. This year we wanted to keep the tree off the floor and out of the reach of Otis. The bare branches suit our season, we are coming into Autumn and our cooler months. My favourite egg is the red one pictured above. It looks like a mama bird affectionately tending to it's baby.

My baby has some eggs of his own. A mixture of wooden and crochet eggs. The crochet eggs are from Etsy here and are delightful to look at and to touch. They are made for babies so a little teething is ok. I hope the photographs do them justice because they are no ordinary crochet eggs. They really are vibrant. I love the contrast between the smoothness of the bare wood and the texture of the cotton crochet.

Caspar asked for a clock in his room. He asked for a watch too. When I didn't arrange for the clock he took my bedside clock (which is digital) and put it in his room. He said he needed to know what time it was. He knows at 8.00am we leave for school. He has been using the kitchen timer for a while now and knows it takes twenty minutes for his muffins to cook. He's starting to learn about time. But what about a clock? A real clock.

I purchased the most simple clock I could find. I was totally amazed at the complex and decorated clocks now aimed at children. I also got my hands on a simple learning clock face and some materials to make our own. My aim was to introduce him to the clock, not to learn to tell the time. A face, two hands, numbers all around and if you listen carefully you can hear it go tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock.

It was really fun and easy. There are a whole heap of printables and materials for telling the time Montessori style. We're not at that stage yet but it won't be long.

Caspar's clock is within his easy reach. In these photographs it's not set at the correct time. He keeps taking it down, playing with it and listening to it. That's ok with me. The more he plays with it the more he learns about it.

When I was growing up I used only a digital clock until high school. When I told my mum that I couldn't tell the time on a real clock she was horrified. She soon remedied that but how did I get through seven years of schooling without learning to tell the time? It's amazing what you don't learn at school.

I recently mentioned in the comments section that as soon as Otis could sit up we engaged him in packing up and putting away. It simply starts as telling him we are going to pack up as we slowly and deliberately put his things away with him watching. Then over time he helps. I rarely clean or tidy either of my children's rooms without them being present. I want them to have ownership over their own space. At the same time I don't expect an 11 month old or a four year old to totally keep their rooms clean and tidy themselves. So where possible we do it together. So you get the picture this is Otis putting his blocks away. The second video I couldn't help posting as Otis is talking and is super cute (well I think so anyway).

He's not perfect and it turns into a bit of fun but this is how it starts. And I recommend starting this young. If you always pack up for them it's a little hard to turn things around at two, three, four or even later.

We purchase so few book these days. The library is a great resource and for many books or topics it is totally unnecessary to have them in our home permanently. We put more thought into a book before we purchase it. Is it a book that we want or need permanently? We recently found a couple of books to which we answered - yes.

Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes by Mem Fox.

I loved this book when Caspar was young, I regret not purchasing our own copy then. It's rare that Otis as the second child gets a new book. We all love Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes and love the global feel the book has as it explores the differences and similarities of babies from around the world. Love, love, love. Mem has that special touch. All of her books read so well and as a parent I don't tire of reading them out loud. This book is the same, lovely rhyme and rhythm.

Holidays Around the World. Celebrate Easter by Deborah Heiligman.

Caspar though his interest in geography and his new pen pals has a greater understanding of cultural differences. I thought it was the perfect time to introduce a book about the many ways people around the world celebrate Easter. This book published by National Geographic is simple, light and contains wonderful bright photographs. I feel it is perfect for his level of knowledge. This book would be great for those in the 4-6 category but any older and the child would want more detail.

13 Artists Children Should Know.

I thought seriously about books which may assist with our art appreciation. Oh so many choices. At this stage we don't intend on studying any artists specifically and if we do we will utilise the library. I was looking for a nice general kids coffee table book. I don't intend on presenting any lessons using this book. I'll leave it on the coffee table or on the book shelf and see if it interests Caspar. If not I'll put it away for a while. This book is part of a series including 13 Paintings Children Should Know and 13 Sculptures Children Should Know. I really like the quality of the images and that I have already learnt a thing or two. This book including it's images really adds variety and a sense of richness to our book collection.

4,962,571 by Trevor Eissler.

If you follow Montessori blogs you'll already have read a review or two of this book. It's a delight. It follows a young boy as he explores his interest in numbers his own way. Almost every time we read it Caspar runs off to count. Who doesn't love that. At four this is a good book for Caspar. Any younger and I don't think he would have caught the concept, it might be different for your child if they already have a strong interest in numbers. This is also a perfect book to give as a gift as it is clearly presented as a Montessori book and it makes you consider what Montessori is really about. To quote a good friend "it's not what they learn but how they learn". Exactly. A big thank you to Vicki from the Montessori Shop who introduced this book to us. The illustrations are delightful too.

Sometimes it helps to get some outside advice. Meg from At Home with Montessori has become my go-to person for so many things. Not only is she Montessori trained she has some real life experience. I asked Meg to answer my most frequently asked questions about sleep.

1. We currently co-sleep with our 4-6 month old. Any suggestions on how to transition them in their own room and onto the floor bed?

Co-sleeping works for some families and not for others. Our family is a bit of a mix. My oldest child never slept well in our bed and we never slept well when he was in it! He sleeps so heavily in his own bed that I struggle to wake him in time for school! My younger child sleeps well with me - but keeps my husband awake. I can sleep anywhere! My older child weaned himself when he was 9 months old and I'm sure this had an impact on his ability to sleep alone. My little one (at almost 17months) is still breastfeeding and really just doesn't sleep as well when on his own. So we play musical beds - my husband sleeps in the guest room when he's so tired he can't face another night of no sleep, I sleep in our bed for most of the night and then usually end up in the littlie's bed towards dawn, as this is his 'witching hour'. If I don't hop in with him then, the whole house gets up at 5am which is way too early for all of us. So this unorthodox arrangement works for us - at this moment in time. This is KEY - when it stops working for one of us, we'll change something, so that it all starts working again.

Transition periods are always difficult - but if you really want change, then you have to persevere through the hard bits until you find something that works. Learning to sleep is kind of like learning to swim. You don't throw your kid in the deep end and hope for the best! You start on the steps, you wear floaties, you keep things light and happy and soon your baby loves the pool and can't wait for a swim, and then one day you can let go, and they manage to do it all by themselves. Why would learning to sleep (or any other life skill for that matter) be any different? Slow and gentle steps, keeping an eye on how everyone is feeling, making small adjustments, finding compromises...this will help your child to learn to sleep. Speaking from an evolutionary perspective - we were not designed to be self-sufficient from the day of birth - we are born needing others. Those needs don't go away just because we are born into a world that expects independence from the start.

If you have been co-sleeping and now want your bed back I would start by having day naps on the floor bed. I always recommend that parents start with the least amount of 'help' and then add in extra support as they observe that their child needs it. So at first put your baby down, walk out of the room. Sometimes if you pick the moment just right, they will fall asleep with no hassles - this is because you have put them into bed when their signs of sleep are still soft (more on the signs of sleep later). If your baby cries, wait a minute to hear what kind of cry they are making - is it tired, grizzly, or is it more intense? More intense cries need a response, so go in and offer some support by being in the room. The next support step would be to sit in close proximity, or lay down next to your baby without touching or making eye contact. Even more support would mean placing a hand somewhere on your baby. Still no sleep? Try picking your baby up to calm them and when they have relaxed again, try the sequence again.

Some families find it helpful to start out the night in separate beds, but leaving the option open to co-sleep if needed later on in the night, or early morning. Gradually the periods in separate beds will extend until the co-sleeping naturally fades away. This is not a quick approach though, so expect some time to pass before your baby is sleeping in their own bed for the whole night.

Sometimes it helps to get a floor bed that is big enough for baby and an adult - then instead of co-sleeping in mum and dad's room, the baby gets used to spending a whole night in their own room with some support from a parent in their own bed, if they need reassurance during the night. This also works really well when you have a sick baby and need to be close during the night - trying to fit onto a single bed is pretty hard when your baby starts moving around - you end up with feet in your face!

Also, it is easier to transition to a floor bed before your baby starts crawling. There will always be a period where your child leaves the bed instead of sleeping, but this period generally lasts for a much shorter length of time if your baby is used to sleeping in their floor bed before they can actually get out of it by themselves.

Door closed or open is another frequent question - whichever you choose, try to decide and be consistent before you baby is around 7 or 8 months - this is the beginning of understanding object permanence and your baby will object strongly to a closed door if they are used to an open one, after this time. We start with a closed door, and I open it when I go to bed, so my kids can get out of bed independently and come to me in the night if they need me.

If you are just starting out with a newborn, consider using a moses basket with a topponcino near your bed from the start, and then transitioning to the floor bed after 6-8 weeks, using the topponcino as the transitional object (it smells the same, feels the same and your baby will have positive associations with sleeping on and being held with the topponcino).

2. I currently feed my child to sleep or use a pacifier. Any suggestions on how to help them become an independent sleeper?

The newborn baby is born with the natural urge to suck - her survival depends on it! Under ideal circumstances, a mother will be able to offer her baby the time to satisfy her hunger for milk, as well as her need for sucking, at the breast. In time the baby will find her fingers or thumb and will be able to satisfy the urge to suck on her own. Eventually the drive to explore her environment through tasting everything, will be overtaken by the need to touch everything and so the natural progression from oral satisfaction to tactile exploration takes place. By 18 months, the child will have left behind the need to suck, and will no longer explore things by putting them in her mouth.

Parents offer a pacifier for a number of reasons: to stop their baby from crying, to satisfy the need to suckle, to aid the transition from wakefulness to sleep, and to prevent thumb-sucking. All honourable reasons, because what parent doesn't have their child's best interests at heart? The big question though is, when offering a pacifier to your infant, who is in control? You hear your baby cry, or struggle to find their fingers and you offer the pacifier to ease their distress. Except that when you offer the pacifier (or the breast for that matter!) every time your baby cries, you are taking away an opportunity for them to learn to soothe themselves. You can at best only guess why your baby is crying, and then by offering the pacifier you take control of the situation. Crying is hard to hear as a parent - but even harder is to try to undo the unspoken message that expression of feelings and communication of distress is not okay. This doesn't mean that you ignore your infants cries, just that you are accepting of them as a means of communication with you, and that if you can help your infant to find a way to soothe themselves (given that other needs such as hunger or discomfort have been met), then you will be preparing the path for healthy self-development. Get rid of the pacifier if you can...don't do it in stages, just ditch it and throw them all away so you can't be tempted to pull one out. Changes are best accepted by your child when you are able to project confidence in your decision. If you don't want a pacifier then take action to get rid of it, and be confident that you have made the right choice

I did not use a pacifier with my first child - he is a thumb sucker. At 6, he still sucks his thumb when going to sleep. Great that we didn't need to use a pacifier, but not so great for his teeth, because prolonged thumb sucking is now having an impact on the position of his jaw and milk teeth - this is just to illustrate that not everything goes according to plan, even when you do your best as a parent! My second child was a baby with a strong need for sucking - so much so, that when I approached my osteopath in tears (seeking adjustments for both of us, after the birth) with cracked and bleeding nipples from acting as a human pacifier, he insisted that it would do no harm if I used it within the context of sleep. So Luke has a pacifier...We try to help him to be independent in its use - we have a pacifier next to his bed so that he can get it and use it when he wants to have a sleep. We encourage him to leave it in the basket when he wakes up, so that he doesn't walk around with it in his mouth. And we also find opportunities to fall asleep without it.

When feeding to sleep, a baby develops an association between food and sleep, which can hinder prolonged, deep and restorative sleep because they find themselves unable to re-enter a sleep cycle when they surface from deep sleep unless they can suckle the breast. This non-nutritive sucking seems to be the easiest option at times, which is why we can get stuck in this pattern of needing to breastfeed to fall asleep. But in reality there are a number of reasons why children find it difficult to get to sleep. Elevated stress levels, over stimulation, getting a 'second wind' when the first round of tired signs are missed, and busy schedules which result in a biological rhythm that is maladapted to the daily rhythm of the family, all make it harder to fall into sleep peacefully. So there are definitely things you can do to help your child become a better sleeper...

If you use a pacifier, try to keep it within the context of sleep and help your baby to be independent in its use.

If you regularly feed to sleep, aim for one sleep transition each day where you help your baby to fall asleep in a different way (remember always start with the least amount of assistance, and offer more support only when needed).

Try to increase the number of transitions to sleep without feeding, and don't be discouraged on the days when its not working.

Watch for the first signs of sleep: jerky arms and legs, no eye contact, frowning - these are early signs... yawning, rubbing eyes, clingy - these come a bit later... crying, grizzling, flailing limbs - these are past the point of no return! If your baby gets to sleep at the first sign of tiredness, they are able to wind-down from consciousness to sleep by themselves. If you miss the signs, they will need your help to make the transition.

Enough restful sleep in the day, leads to better sleep at night.

Have a sleep routine - keep it simple and make sure everyone who initiates it sticks to it! Eventually your baby will start to initiate the routine for themselves.

You are preparing the way for later skills - everything the infant knows is hidden, but you will see the fruits of your labors when they are ready to bring these learned behaviours into the realm of conscious action

3. My child rolls a lot and I am worried about them rolling out of the floor bed. How do you handle this?

If your baby has been on the floor bed from the start, they will be less likely to roll out of it, since they will have internalised its boundaries when lying on it and scooting around it. If your mattress has rounded edges - like a futon - the drop from the bed to the floor will be softer. You can place a bumper (made from a firmly rolled blanket, or a thin mattress) next to the bed to protect your baby from bumping themselves when they roll off. My preference was for using a futon mattress to start with, and then moving to a double inner-sprung mattress when my children were more intentionally mobile.

4. My child is now crawling and frequently gets out of bed and wants to play, what should I do?

When choosing to use a floor bed, one is implicitly accepting a fundamental truth...No one can make another person fall asleep! So yes, your child may choose to leave their bed and play, instead of lying still and sleeping, but conversely, they may also choose to lay down and sleep when tired! With both of my children this happened for the first time at around 16 months - all was suspiciously quiet and I wondered where they were...only to find them curled up, fast asleep on their beds. Seems like a long time to wait for independent sleep, I know! But the joy of seeing them both make full use of their independence, and not only recognise their own tiredness, but also associating their beds with the positive experience of sleep was a conquest in my eyes! I knew that I had prepared them well for sleep skills that would last them a lifetime.

When you child gets out of bed to play, wait and watch...they might get tired of it and get back into bed, they may even fall asleep on the floor next to their toy. They may not be tired and not go to sleep at all! But if you are sure that they are tired, and need to sleep (peaceful and calm concentration with an activity indicates that they may not have been as tired as you thought they were...) then simply try laying down next to them and closing your eyes, modelling the appropriate sleep behaviours for them.

5. I am currently setting up our nursery and working out where to position our mobiles. Would the mobile be better over the bed so the child has something to focus on as they go to sleep?

Mobiles are stimulating to watch - my first instinct would be to suggest that they are better suited to an area where your baby undertakes his wakeful 'work'. This way you can watch him for signs of over-stimulation (grimacing, lack of eye contact, turning his head away) and help him to take a break by changing the scenery.

Using the mobile requires concentrated effort on the part of the infant - they are learning how to coordinate their vision so that both eyes work together to focus on and track the mobile's movements. They will inevitably want some respite and if they are not mobile (and mobile babies would really need tactile mobiles, not visual ones) they are unable to remove themselves from the source of stimulation unless you move them.

The mobiles could be in the same room, hanging above the movement mat, but far enough away from the floor bed so that your infant is not lying directly beneath them, and can choose to look at them or not.

6. My child is the same age as yours. How much sleep should they be getting?

Newborns can sleep for between 16 and 20 hours a day, split evenly between daytime and night time. At 12 weeks the pituitary gland begins to function helping your baby to establish a day/night rhythm.

After three months the need for sleep decreases until your toddler gets around 12-14 hours of sleep in a 24 hour period - this need remains constant until your child is at least 3 years old.

Every child is unique, so don't measure sleep by the clock, but rather by observing your child. A well rested child is happy, content to play independently, not excessively clingy, and full of physical energy. The need for sleep may increase when your child is unwell, going through a growth spurt, or teething.

Meg has also addressed sleep in this article which is a fantastic read especially if you are expecting or have a newborn. Thank you Meg - so much! I really appreciate the time and energy you put into answering these questions.

I receive many questions about sleep. However I've never felt comfortable writing about it. I'm not sure my answers will help other than to reassure you that all children and all parents are different. Here are my answers to my top six most asked questions about sleep.

1. We currently co-sleep with our 4-6 month old. Any suggestions on how to transition them in their own room and onto the floor bed?

I suggest start with daytime sleeps. I frequently co-sleep with Otis during the night but during the day he sleeps on his floorbed.

I have found that Otis sleeps better when co-sleeping and it is especially helpful when he is teething or unwell. At eleven months I am in no rush to cease co-sleeping as I feel this will be a natural and slow process.

I also suggest making the transition at your own pace. Like many mothers I am largely unsupported. If I don’t get enough sleep there is no one else to help me get through the day or look after the children while I take a nap. So when considering sleep arrangements I look at where everyone gets the best nights sleep and ignore outside pressures.

When you are ready for your child to sleep in their floor bed during the night I suggest move to co-sleeping or partially co-sleeping (for the first or last part of the night) in their bed. This way their reliance on you can lessen over time. I would also consider using a transition item like a small blanket that they can use when co-sleeping and when they are alone.

2. I currently feed my child to sleep or use a pacifier. Any suggestions on how to help them become an independent sleeper?

I fed my first child (Caspar) to sleep from birth until he completely weaned. I did this because it came naturally, his milk feed would make him so sleepy it was difficult to wake him. He also slept through the night, every night (10-12 hours) from six weeks until he was nine months old. As a first time mother I was delighted to be getting a full nights sleep. Once he hit nine months he began waking for a night feed. When he was completely weaned he slept through the night again. While feeding to sleep is not something I would recommend it felt like the most natural thing in the world and worked for this particular child.

Otis does not feed to sleep or use a pacifier. He is not a completely independent sleeper either. He often requires me to lie next to him, talk or sing before he will settle enough to sleep. My aim is always to reduce his reliance on me in the hope that when he is ready he will sleep independently.

3. My child rolls a lot and I am worried about them rolling out of the floor bed. How do you handle this?

Otis slept on his floor bed during the day since he was only a couple of months old. He was also a fairly stationary sleeper until around nine months. In the early months he would call out to me once he woke up, he would not leave the bed himself. So in these early months I had no concerns about him rolling out of the bed.

Once he was rolling and moving around during his sleep he was old enough to leave the bed safely. I do have some concerns about him rolling out during his sleep although I have never seen him do so. I frequently check on him while he is sleeping and I haven’t yet seen him anywhere near the edge. I think this is because he has spent so much time in his bed he is aware of where the edge is and generally moves up or to the side near the wall. I frequently put a firm thick pillow near the bed so if he rolled out he would fall onto the pillow first.

The best way to avoid these concerns is to start with a low futon type bed or mattress. It can be difficult sourcing the right mattress so I suggest start looking early.

4. My child is now crawling and frequently gets out of bed and wants to play, what should I do?

Yes, Otis does this too. Generally I let him play for a couple of minutes and then remind him he is tired, it’s time to sleep and take him back to his bed. I do this because I don’t want him to get over-tired as then it is really difficult for him to get to sleep. If he is insistent on getting out of bed I will try to lie on the bed next to him and talk, sing or even read. Otis hasn't yet climbed into bed and fallen asleep himself. Although I am hopeful this will happen one day.

5. I am currently setting up our nursery and working out where to position our mobiles. Would the mobile be better over the bed so the child has something to focus on as they go to sleep?

Otis’s room had enough space so we decided to keep the sleeping and movement areas separate.

At first I was really confused about this as there is at least one Montessori text suggesting hanging mobiles above the bed. I asked around and spoke to a lot of people with Montessori experience. In the end the majority of people recommended to keep the areas separate so the child has one area specifically for for sleep (the bed) and an area specifically for play/work (the movement area).

This worked well for us except Otis frequently slept under his mobile.

6. My child is the same age as yours. How much sleep should they be getting?

Otis is currently eleven months old and generally has two daytime naps. He has a morning nap and an afternoon nap. These naps can range from 30-90 minutes and are often impacted by school runs and other activities. Otis also likes 10-12 hours sleep at night but doesn’t consistently sleep through the night.

There are times when Otis’s sleep gets really mixed up. This usually occurs when we are really busy and under stress. It’s at these times I remind myself to slow down and ensure we spend more time at home so we can accommodate Otis’s needs and find our rhythm again.

Wow, sleep is a difficult topic. I hope our experiences helps a little. Feel free to leave me a question especially if you would like me to clarify something.

My last piece of advice is it's never too late to try the floor bed. Even if you use a cot or a crib for the child's first year transitioning to a floor bed at one or even two years will still have benefits. Also please don't feel like you are being judged. I know many, many Montessori families who didn't/don't use a floor bed. If you don't use a floor bed there are still many ways you can incorporate the principles of Montessori into your home.

But please come back tomorrow as I have asked dear friend Meghan Hicks from At Home with Montessori to answer the same questions. Meghan has a wealth of Montessori knowledge and also has experience as the mother of two (very cute) boys.

There are no surprises in my favourite things for Otis over at Mini Piccolini today. The things I didn't mention but are also favourites; the Ergo (yes, I love it now we don't need the infant insert), the Tripp Trapp high chair, floor bed, small chair and table, his new Puka Puka mobile, yes I could go on. One thing I am struggling with for both of my children is a suitable night light. If you have a good one please let me know. Currently we leave our passage light on all night!

Love infant Montessori? Have a look at this new book mentioned by Eve here. I don't have a copy yet but it looks beautiful.

Also I will be compiling some of my most frequently asked questions by topic. I love interacting with other Montessori parents on a personal basis but many of the questions I receive are the same. Yes, this tells me we are facing similar issues. Leave a comment or email me to ensure your question gets answered. Before I started this blog I never asked a blogger a question, I wasn't sure if it was appropriate or if I would get a response. I want you to feel comfortable here. Honestly if there is a something you really want to know, just ask but please keep the questions Montessori or parenting related.

We sometimes move the walker into other rooms but generally only those that have carpet. It also works well outside on our lawn. Once he has some experience we will move it into our other living areas like those with tiles.

The reason we like this style of walker is that he can use it when he is ready and he can use it completely independently.

This lock and key activity is self explanatory. Four locks, four keys.

Caspar is now at that age/stage/sensitive period where he doesn't sit still for long. Unless he is of course highly engaged. He has over the last few months enjoyed using our locks at home so I thought this would hold his attention. And it did. There is something about the mechanics of the lock that appeal to him.

This is an activity that would appeal to many ages and most likely to children much younger than Caspar. It does require a little patience to work out which key goes in which lock and the fine motor skills to actually insert the key and open the lock.

It's also a super easy activity to put together if you already have a few locks at home.